todurkin

On 4/9/2019 at 9:58 AM, DISFANS3 said:

Just back, Awesome trip. Started with two days before cruise in old San Juan. Stayed at Casa Blanca Hotel, was awesome... Trip was fantastic..

Did you like Casablanca? My GF and I are staying there prior to our cruise on the Freedom in early December.

Thanks everyone for the responses. I'll make sure I have both cards with me if I go by myself to grab drinks...And for doubles, I'll ask, worst case, they say no...

Cheers all!

Tom

2 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Doubles are not a problem 

2 minutes ago, nashirak said:

I had no problems doing this for my wife and I on Mariner last week. 

Excellent...Thank you both.

3 minutes ago, molly361 said:

As long as you have the 2 cards for the bartender you can order her  drink as well

Perfect...Thank you!

Hey Everyone...My GF and I will be heading out on the FOS in December. I am contemplating purchasing each of us the drink package. I haven't purchased one in the past, but that was because I have mostly sailed Carnival, where you can order bottles of liquor for your room...We love our HH's on the balcony, so have a couple questions regarding the drink package...

Can I order each of us a drink, or do we have to order drinks individually? If she's in the shower, and I want to go grab us a couple cocktails to enjoy on the balcony, will that be allowed?

What about ordering a double? Am I allowed to order a double Titos on the rocks, and bring it back and mix it in my room with the mixers I brought on? Or, does that count as two drinks and I can't order a double?

Cheers all!

Tom

15 hours ago, Gamecock1216 said:

Y'all are so adorable! What a great trip you had! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you! 

13 hours ago, grandmarnnurse said:

I really enjoyed your review. Baltimore is an easy drive for us (about 7 hours) from our home in WNY. Granted, we couldn’t do the drive day of cruise, but no flying would be great! Perhaps the Pride will be in our future. For now, we have the Magic booked for a B2B in April 2020.

Lots of great hotels near the Port of Baltimore. My brother lives in NY, and he and his wife have talked about coming down for a cruise out of Baltimore as well.

Enjoy your B2B on the Magic!

5 hours ago, stosto52 said:

Great review.. we will be on the Pride late August.. counting the days.

You'll love her! Have a great time. 

9 hours ago, mexicobob said:

One of the best reviews I have read.  Good words.  Good pictures.  Definitely made me want to book another cruise.  

Thanks for taking the time to post your great experience.

Glad you enjoyed it, and thank you for the kind words! I really enjoyed putting the review together. Took me back on the ship!

17 hours ago, mapman_2004 said:

Great review, thanks!  love that you're laid back and seemed to enjoy everything.  Must be because you're a soccer player and coach.  We're the coolest people, IMO, lol.

No doubt!! lol

21 hours ago, swodog94 said:

Great review! We love Pride and have cruised her four times. Agree with all your assessments: perfect size, never feels crowded, good food and beverage service and awesome staff and crew! 

Couldn't agree more, especially about the staff and crew! One thing we noticed, that we really liked, was how clean everything was, and how they were constantly cleaning the heavy trafficked areas, such as the hand rails on the steps.

19 hours ago, BigDoug said:

That would be Happy Hour.😁

BigDoug is correct! We loved our private happy hours on the balcony. For that hour, we just sat and relaxed, enjoyed some cocktails, listened to music, and just chilled...

10 hours ago, Cairns Cruisers said:

Super review and great pictures,thanks Tom for posting this.

Glad you and Sandi a had a great time.

My wife and I are on Miracle next year to Alaska, and loved your cheese and snacks idea.

Although I'm not sure how the weather will be for HH on the balcony

 

 

Thank you! This was the first crusie I had taken on snacks like that. Sailing 20 minutes from home allowed us to take a few more items that usual. It was great being able to make a little snack plate for HH.

Alaska is next on our list! You can still make HH work, just may need to have a few layers on...lol

37 minutes ago, BBigfoot613 said:

Thanks for the awesome review. It has helped while I wait to get my rump back on a ship.

 

I loved the "ummmm no" and "#shortgirlproblems" made me literally laugh out loud. 

 

I agree about maturity on the décor. I've sailed the pride twice with small children (aged 6 to 11 on both cruises) and it was a nonfactor for them completely. For me I found it brave and a nice display of art....almost like sailing in a museum lol.

 

Glad you enjoyed the review! Was such a great time!!

I was walking to my room one day, and there was a father and young daughter behind me (she had to have been 5 or 6). She just kept going "boobie" every time she passed a painting of a naked lady. At one point, I heard the Dad go, "That's not a boobie...that was a man"...lol

21 minutes ago, surfone said:

Great review.  You all will love going out of San Juan,  we just did one out of there in December.   Stay in Old San Juan a few days pre or post cruise  if your schedule permits. Took a lyft ride to a fun casino (think it was Marriott) they serve you food at the card tables, Lol.  We have always said the casino staff on the Pride are the best, so friendly, and that goes for most of their ships.  

We are flying in the day before, staying at CasaBlanca Hotel in Old San Juan. Excited to get out, walk and take in the city that first day. 

Could not agree more about the casino staff on the Pride. They were fantastic!

1 hour ago, JaniceB said:

That is nice.  My husband and I are doing the port intensive Norway cruise on the Carnival Legend.  It will be a switch from our normal relaxing sea day cruise.  I have been on the sister ship Liberty of the Seas and enjoyed it.  

I was on the Legend back in 2012, and had a great trip. Enjoy!

20 minutes ago, tandemcruzr said:

Thanks Tom for a great review. Y'all make a nice couple.  🙂

 

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

14 minutes ago, JaniceB said:

Great review!  I can see why you bought the pictures, very nice.  Enjoy your next cruise and the ports sound awesome.

Thank you! Yea, the ports sold us on our next cruise. This past one was more relaxing, having basically 4 sea days. We are looking forward to exploring the islands on the next itinerary. And what's great is all 5 stops are full days; either 8-5 or 9-6.

Final Thoughts...

Embarkation/Debarkation - I've been on 11 cruises, and this was one of the smoothest for either I had experienced. From drop off at the pier, to dropping our stuff in our room, was less than an hour. For debarkation, we put our bags our the night before. We were off the boat and headed home by 1015am.

The Pride - We loved the ship. We thought the layout was easy to navigate, and never felt crowded. I had read some negative reviews about some people not liking the decor of the ship. It didn't bother us at all. And, me being the mature individual I am, we had to snap this photo the last day...

Food - We were never disappointed in a meal. We only ate at the buffet for breakfast, but they had plenty of choices. For lunch, loved the different options (Deli, Pizza, Blue Iguana, Guy's Burgers). We clearly loved the sushi at Bonsai, and thought the prices were beyond reasonable, especially for the quality. The Dining Room food never disappointed. In fact, we had made reservations at David's for the last night, and decided to cancel once we saw the menu in the dining room that evening. Ended up being one of our favorite meals of the trip.

Entertainment - Dr E. was great! Easy to see why people love sailing with him. We didn't see any of the Broadway shows or comedians. We did enjoy the lip sync battle, as well as the 80's party. We spent the majority of our nights in the casino. The pit bosses and dealers were all personable and made the evening fun. Nobody likes a dealer or a pit boss that are all business. They were great, and really made for a fun experience, win or lose. It's smokey, but not terrible. We brought Febreze spray for clothes with us, spraying our clothes each night before bed, and never woke up smelling like smoke. 

Staff - Always had a smile on their faces, and went above and beyond to make sure you were happy. From our room steward to the dining staff to the bartenders to the people at the help desk, everyone we encountered was great!

Next up - We will be sailing Royal Caribbean's, Freedom of the Seas, Dec 8th-15th. We loved our Carnival cruise, but we chose this one because of the itinerary as well as it fitting my coaching schedule (Sailing from San Juan, heading to: St Maarten, St Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia, and Barbados). But, we will certainly be back on Carnival in the future!

Happy sailing everyone, and if you have any questions, I'd be happy to try and answer!

Cheers,

Tom

March 2nd - Sea day

We woke up, curious what the weather was going to be. It wasn't bad, but it was gray, and a little chilly. But, we still wanted to get some relaxation in, so we headed to the Serenity Deck one last time. We got a clam chair, grabbed some towels as blankets, and enjoyed a couple more hours. 

The slides were open, and we felt bad for the Carnival employee who had to man the slides. You can't tell form this picture, but his face is completely wrapped, trying to keep him warm. It was a breezy, chilly day! We were up there till about 1230, when we decided to head to lunch, and walk the ship. We wanted to purchase out some pics from the trip. We had done some of the photo shoots, one on formal night, one on a non-formal night, and we wanted to pick one from each. These are the two we purchased:

We also purchased this gem, which was from embarkation day...It's one of our favorites...

We were so excited, so looking forward to the tip, and it did not disappoint!!

We grabbed sushi one last time for HH, this time enjoying on the comfort of the couch in our room as it was just a little too chilly outside. We wanted to get ready a little earlier as we wanted to catch the lip sync finals!

We got dressed, and headed to the main show room. We grabbed a glass of champagne to toast our vacation, and then grabbed some seats.

The show was hilarious, and Dr E. as well as the two finalists had us rolling. The show lasted about 35-40 minutes, and was well worth it. We headed to dinner afterwards, and the hit the casino. We sat at the 3-card poker table, with the same folks we had seen every night. We all shared stories from the trip, laughed, and drank, and had a lot of fun on the last night.

We went to bed, sad that vacation was over, but so happy for the memories...And ready to plan our next one...

March 1st - Freeport

We had decided that we were going to stay on the ship this day. We were only in Freeport till 130 (back on the ship by 1pm). Knowing that this was going to be out last warm day, we wanted to spend as much time out enjoying it as possible, so we decided to just hang on the Serenity Deck all day. We got up there around 7am, and grabbed a clam chair. It was pretty empty most of the morning, which was great.

It was a hot one, but it was a gorgeous day! Plus, there was no drama with clam chairs being reserved, so it was very quiet morning. Because it was so hot, I decided to try out the Green Thunder water slide. I hadn't watched any videos on it or anything, so I was a little surprised when I got to the top and realized you are standing up, inside an enclosed space, and the floor beneath you opens up and you drop, shooting you through the tube. It was actually pretty awesome, and quite refreshing on a hot day. Sandi said she couldn't believe how fast I was going, and followed it up with, "Umm, no..." when I asked her if she was going to try it. "I'm just gonna go get in the Serenity Pool"...lol

The serenity deck got packed as we got closer to 1pm. And once we set sail, there wasn't an open chair to be had. We were very happy that we had decided to stay on the ship. We were in our clam chair all day, till about 330pm.

We walked the boat some, and got some pics.

We loved that the serenity deck was in the back, away from everything. The level above is the water works, but that didn't bother us at all. Plus, quick access to the slides!

We headed back to the room, to enjoy one last Bahamian sunset and HH. When we got back to the room, we found this guy...

Sandi tried to get a pic with the monkey sitting on her shoulders, but someone was a little too short...#shortgirlproblems...lol

I went down and grabbed some sushi for HH on the balcony, and we had another amazing sky to enjoy, toasting the Bahamas, thanking the islands for some amazing memories.

This was elegant night number 2, so we both took our time, and got dressed in our best. 

Like I said before, we both love getting dressed up since we rarely have the opportunity. Dinner was once again delicious. Afterwards, we went and changed, and headed to the indoor pool, where there was an 80's dance party. Dr E. put on a show, and some people were wearing some fantastic outfits.

I actually enjoy getting loose on the dance floor, so I had a great time, and Sandi had a great time taking pics and videos...lol

We would end up in the casino till late, trying not to be sad that the next day, was the last day of vacation...

On 3/15/2019 at 1:44 PM, Andoria said:

I'm loving this review! I'll be sailing on the Pride for the 4th time in May and your review is bringing back great memories while simultaneously getting me excited for my upcoming cruise.

Awesome! We loved the Pride. Will definitely be sailing her again!

On 3/15/2019 at 2:02 PM, JaniceB said:

Awesome pictures of sunrise and sunset.  I am really enjoying reading about your trip.

Thank you! We were very lucky. The first 4 days, we hand amazing sunrises on our balcony. The last 3, perfect sunsets.

On 3/15/2019 at 4:31 PM, surfone said:

Wow,  nice review.  We are booked for our 4th Pride cruise in August.  It's our favorite Carnival ship.  Love the pictures. 

Thank you!

On 3/15/2019 at 4:39 PM, Jamman54 said:

Enjoying your review!  The Pride is my favorite ship, so I love to read all the reviews on her.

A comment from Jamman54! Read many of your reviews!

On 3/15/2019 at 5:11 PM, brookeq said:

Great review.  Where did she get that great dress?

 

She got it online at ASOS. Just type that in google and the site should come up.

On 3/15/2019 at 5:12 PM, smurfm69 said:

Enjoying your pics and review!  Keep it coming.

Glad you are enjoying it! I will finish it up on Monday! Coaching all weekend.

February 28th - Nassau

We woke up early again to enjoy the sail-in to Nassau. We didn't pre-order any breakfast, so just made our way up to the Lido deck to make plates and bring them back down to enjoy on the balcony. It was going to be another beautiful day!

Love seeing that lighthouse. I had been to Nassau before, and always enjoyed the sail-in, and seeing the lighthouse meant we were there!

We had pre-booked day passes at the British Colonial Hilton. The prices had increased in the years since I had been there, but I still did not find it unreasonable. It was $79pp, but each person received a $40 food credit. The food and drinks were typical prices, but we thought the food was good, and the drinks were delicious. I believe we ended up spending an additional $40 for the day. So, not bad at all, especially with how gorgeous the grounds are!

The beach area is small, but not crowded at all. I think there were maybe 20 people there that day. We also had access to the pool area (which I believe is heated as it was warm when we were there), as well the hammocks under the trees on the lawn. It was a perfect day, made better by seeing something cool...We were standing in the water, about knee deep, and we saw something dark swimming in front of us. We moved a little closer, and watched a giant ray swim right past us. Some others came down into the water near us to get a closer look. Who needs to book a snorkeling trip to see that?! lol...

The sand is powder white and so soft, and the water is so clear. Even with the construction happening next door, it didn't bother us at all, and was an absolutely perfect beach day!

Ms Pilates girl showing off...lol

We stayed till about 3pm, and then made our way back towards the ship. It's about a 15 minute walk, very easy, and you pass through the shops. We did a little bit of shopping as we headed back. We also stopped at one of the local restaurants near the pier to get some Conch Fritters. Sandi had never tried them, and since they are known for their conch in the Bahamas, we thought we had to get some. She of course, loved them! Love me some quality conch fritters!

We were back on board around 4pm, and headed to the room to enjoy sail-out, and of course HH.

Was a gorgeous sky that evening, with a mix of clouds and sun. We got cleaned up and headed to dinner. We had our pre-dinner cocktail beforehand at the bar, and Sandi wanted to try the Spicey Chipotle Pineapple Martini.

Dinner was once again top notch and enjoyable. We ended the night with some gambling, lots of laughs, and a few cocktails. At this point, I had been given a card for free drinks in the casino. Not sure if that's a good or bad sign, but it came in handy the last couple nights of the cruise...lol

We were in bed around midnight or so, sad to be leaving Nassau, but looking forward to a quiet day in Freeport!

55 minutes ago, alleghator said:

This review is so much fun! I love your positive attitude about everything -- that's what vacation is for!

Thank you! Absolutely agree. Vacation is about enjoying the moment and not worrying about everything being perfect. It's vacation, no matter what, it beats being at work!

Back on board, we enjoyed a perfect sunset for our HH...

We enjoyed just sitting on the balcony, toasting Princess Cays, thanking the island for giving us a wonderful day. I mentioned it before, but we loved having those moments, our moments, which is why we loved having the balcony.

We got ready for dinner, and walked the ship a bit...

.

See, we took the steps!! lol!

This pic of just Sandi is one of my favorites from the trip. loved that dress, which was a new one she bought for the trip...I am a lucky man :) :)

Dinner in the dining room was once again delicious. Afterwards we went and caught part of Dr. E.'s singing in the Atrium Bar. He had the place rolling with his singing and impressions.

That is him dressed as Whitney Houston from The Bodyguard, singing I Will Always Love You. Dr E. puts on a good show, and makes sure everyone is having a good time! Now I know why he's many peoples favorite cruise director.

After enjoying the laugh, we ended the night in the casino, per the norm. Not a great night, but not a bad one either. It was another night where we were in bed a little earlier than usual cause we wanted to be up early the next day to enjoy sailing into Nassau!

February 27th - Princess Cays

Prior to the cruise, I did a lot of research, and read many negative reviews about Princess Cays. The main argument I read was people comparing it to Half Moon Cay, and how it's not as nice. I have been to Half Moon Cay, and it is one of the most beautiful beach I've been too...BUT, that was not going to stop me form enjoying Princess Cays and it's own unique beauty. The day did not disappoint!

We were awakened by breakfast being delivered. Nothing fancy, but a couple bagels, some fruit, and coffee for the lady. We sat on our balcony and enjoyed the sail-in!

As we turned the corner, the breeze changed, the waters calmed, and there she was, Princess Cays! We were so excited. We had enjoyed our two sea days, but we were looking forward to putting our toes in the water and ass in the sand! Since we had FTTF, we had priority tendering. We met in one of the lounges, and after about a 15 minute wait, off we went. The tender ride was about 10 minutes, and we were on the first one.

When we got there, we headed away from the crowd, and went over the bridge to the right. Now, the water isn't the turquoise blue you'd see if you went to the left with the crowd, but, it was still crystal clear. The bonus of going to the right is, the beach is empty! 

There were maybe 10 people on this side of the island. But, there is a bathroom, and a bar! 

We grabbed a coupe lounge chairs that were under a palm tree, and pulled them down closer to the water. It was hot, but not overbearing. We sat and relaxed!

After awhile, we went exploring, and continued to walk to the right away from the crowd. Yes, there are rocks in the water in certain places, but they are easy to see and avoid. It was just great to be away from the crowd the entire day. Found this little guy on our walk! He scurried back in when we turned it over to see if anyone was home. We gently placed him back on the beach, jealous of where he gets to spend his days.

Lunch was served, I believe starting at 11 (maybe 11:30), and went for two hours. Nothing fancy, but perfect beach food (hot dogs, hamburgers, jerk chicken, and several sides and salads and deserts). My suggestion is to go when it first opens, as the lines can get long. But, there are 4 stations, and they move relatively quick.

We loved spending out day at Princess Cays, and would happily go back if an itinerary took us there. It was quiet and beautiful, just what the Dr ordered!

We caught the tender back around 3 (final tender was 415 I believe). We didn't want to leave, but what an awesome day it was. We headed back to the ship, to enjoy HH on the balcony as we sailed away...

February 26th - Sea Day #2

We woke up to another gorgeous sky....

No gym or anything today, as we headed straight to the Serenity Deck. We were able to get a clam chair right away (got up there around 8am). There were some seats that had been reserved via towels and books, and it lead to a dust-up...

Quick recap of it...The clam chair next to us was reserved when we got up there at 8am. A couple came up around 915 and asked if we knew how long that chair had been reserved. We told them we hadn't seen anyone since we had been up there. They took the clam chair and relaxed. At around 1030, the 2 ladies who had reserved the clam chair came back, and threw a fit. Now, there is a sign, as you enter the Serenity deck, stating that chairs can only be held for 45 minutes, at which point, the chair is fair game. The two ladies didn't agree with that policy, and went off on the couple, as well as the Carnival employee, to the point security was called. They got quite nasty. My GF and I gave our info to security since we had been witness to the entire incident. Security actually came to our room later in the evening to get an official written statement. It was a little crazy, but didn't ruin our day...

Anyway, back to the day on the Serenity Deck. We were up there all day, not leaving till 330. The view was spectacular, and the bar service was on point. We went one at a time to get lunch and bring it back and ate it out there. Was a really awesome day as the weather was getting warmer and warmer! It was a little breezy, but was a warm breeze and felt great!

We walked the ship to stretch out our legs since we literally had been laying on our butts for almost 8 hours. But hey, it's vacation, right!? We headed back to our room,  for our usual HH on the balcony before heading to dinner.

Dinner in the dining room was top notch, as always. I'll give an overview of all food/activities at the end of my review. But, we thought the service was fantastic, and the food never disappointed. We took it easy this evening, wanting to be up early to enjoy sailing into Princess Cays tomorrow!